The U.S. Naval Institute is maintaining and preserving the former Naval Historical Foundation website so readers and former NHF members can still access past issues of Pull Together and other content. NHF has decommissioned and is no longer accepting new members or donations. NHF members are being converted to members of the Naval Institute. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at [email protected] or by phone at 800-233-8764.Not a member of the Naval Institute? Here’s how to join!

Society of Sponsors Visit NHHC Facilities

By Matthew T. Eng This past Monday, several members of the Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy came to the Washington Navy Yard to tour their facilities and interact with staff members of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC). The Society itself has been around since 1908. According to their website, they

Submarine History Seminar Recap: A Half-Century of US-UK Submarine Cooperation

Amidst the flurry of activity at the Sea-Air-Space exposition down the road in National Harbor, MD, the Naval Historical Foundation and Naval Submarine League held it’s annual Submarine History Symposium at the U.S. Navy Museum’s Cold War Gallery last Wednesday. The symposium’s topic and speakers were well received by an enthusiastic and attentive crowd. Over

Ditty Bag: Imperial Japanese Navy Collar Tabs

Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series Ditty Bag: Imperial Japanese Navy Collar Tabs The Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy shared rank titles during World War II. Ranks for the military ascended from Ensign (Shōi) to Sub-Lieutenant (Chūi) all the way through to Grand Marshal (Dai-gensui).

The Maryland 800 and the Call to Arms in 1917

“It is a real war call- the urgency is evident [. . .] as an assurance of appreciation of our community of their patriotism in this emergency we must engrave their names in a permanent record.” (The Baltimore Sun, 3 April 1917) Several weeks ago, the Foundation received an email from a woman seeking out

Ditty Bag: Trần Hưng Đạo

Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series Ditty Bag: Trần Hưng Đạo Statue Admiral James L. Holloway III, USN (Ret.) received this statuette from Rear Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Vietnam Navy, Tran Van Chon in 1972 when then-Vice Admiral Holloway was Commander,

Mystery Individual Discovered in Paintings and Photographs

The U.S. Navy is currently on a worldwide search to identify a mysterious individual found in our nation’s most celebrated moments of naval history. Recent photographic evidence found deep in the archives of the U.S. Navy suggests one singular man appearing in navy art and photographs throughout the 240 history of the Navy. The man

Ditty Bag: World War II Japanese Parade Victory Flags

Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series World War II Japanese Parade Victory Flags These small, silk Japanese flags were used locally in Japan to cheer on Imperial Japanese sailors and soldiers before they left the comforts of home for the battlefield. This first flag bears the typical

Iwo Jima 40th Anniversary Exhibit at the Cannon House Office Building, 1985

It’s amazing what you can find at work. When you work for an organization that’s been around since 1926, you are bound to come across some really interesting items untouched over the years. We aren’t talking Holy Grail here, but interesting nonetheless. One such item popped up at the office this week: The edges were

Finding an Old Salt a New Home: CDR Vicente Donates Zuccarelli Print

On Tuesday of this week, retired Navy CDR Caridad A. Vicente stopped by the NHF office to drop off a print of a painting done by well-known marine artist Frank E. Zuccarelli. The painting in question, titled “Old Salt of the Sixth Fleet,” is considered by many to be Zuccarelli’s most famous painting. The painting

2015 Submarine History Seminar – Mutual Defense: A Half Century of US-UK Submarine Cooperation

Join the Naval Submarine League and the Naval Historical Foundation this year for the 2015 Submarine History Seminar, “Mutual Defense: A Half Century of US-UK Submarine Cooperation.” Featured speakers this year will include NHF Chairman ADM  Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret.) and NHF President RADM John T. Mitchell, USN (Ret.). For more information on the conference,

BOOK REVIEW – Ready Then, Ready Now, Ready Always: More Than a Century of Service by Citizen Sailors

By David F. Winkler, Navy Reserve Centennial Book Committee, Washington, DC. (2015) Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D. As managing editor of the Naval Historical Foundation’s Naval History Book Reviews I’m taking the prerogative of reviewing my own book as I have some thoughts about its production, content, and some subjects covered in the book

BOOK REVIEW – Against the Tide: Rickover’s Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy

By Rear Admiral Dave Oliver, USN (Ret.), Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, (2014) Reviewed by Phillip G. Pattee, Ph.D. Rear Admiral Dave Oliver, USN (Ret.), A 1963 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was a nuclear-trained submarine officer who spent thirty-two years leading within the U.S. Navy. After retirement, he served as the Principal Deputy Secretary

BOOK REVIEW – A Coward? The Rise and Fall of the Silver King

By Steve R. Dunn, Book Guild Publishing, Sussex, England, (2014) Reviewed by Capt. John A. Rodgaard USN (Ret.) What is cowardice? Can cowardice be reinterpreted as an act of reasoned restraint or self-preservation? Is cowardice situational, or is it a character trait? Does it possess a moral dimension? That is, “Can a brave man also

BOOK REVIEW – US Heavy Cruisers: 1943 – 75: Wartime and Post-war Classes

By Mark Stille, Osprey, New York (2014) Reviewed by James H. McClelland, Sr. US Heavy Cruisers: 1943 – 75 is a gold mine of information concerning the U.S. Navy’s heavy cruisers of World War II and beyond. Mark Stille, a retired navy commander who has held posts in the intelligence community, faculty positions at the

BOOK REVIEW – A Handful Of Bullets: How The Murder Of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Still Menaces The Peace

By Harlan K. Ullman, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2014) Reviewed by Nathan Albright Readers with an interest in grand strategy and a forceful and candid presentation of a wide variety of threats to the peace and well-being of the world will find a great deal of interest in this particular book. Although this is